Wall St. rises on factory data; Tesla and Facebook jump

By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks climbed on Thursday after a reading on manufacturing activity hit its highest in nearly four years, while news about Facebook and Tesla drove their shares to record highs. U.S. factory activity accelerated at its fastest pace in nearly four years in February, according to Markit's preliminary U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, a bullish economic indicator following a string of weaker-than-expected reports. The stock market has selectively shrugged off tepid data, pinning recent weakness on the impact of extremely cold weather and massive snow rather than worsening fundamentals.